Wii U Demo Limits Set by Publishers

Nintendo finally reveals the method behind the madness of demo limits currently used on its eShop.

Limited demos have recently become a hot topic for Nintendo. As we previously reported, On both the Wii U and 3DS, any downloaded demos can only be used a finite number of times before users can no longer play them. The number often varies, but one thing does not. When the number of uses runs out, so does a person's ability to play the demo, even if they try to redownload it.

Just how does Nintendo arrive at these numbers? Turns out, they don't make the decision. Speaking with Eurogamer, a Nintendo spokesperson discussed who makes the call on how many times a demo can be played. "Each publisher has the opportunity to decide how long demos will stay on the eShop, and how many times consumers can play them before they expire," the spokesperson said.

When the demos expire, players are taken to a page explaining how they can purchase the full retail game. Hopefully this limit trend remains solely on the Nintendo consoles, and doesn't make its way to the next Xbox or PlayStation.